X U.S. stock indexes tried to stay positive in early afternoon trading Thursday as volume faded.
The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 added 0.1% and the Nasdaq was just positive. Volume in the stock market today was running lower on both major exchanges.
Blue chips were mostly higher with rising issues in the Dow Jones industrial average outnumbering declining issues by an almost 6-1 ratio. General Electric (GE) drew the heaviest volume. The stock rose 0.7% in heavy trade.
General Electric is lowly rated. The stock's Composite Rating is 39, which means about 61% of all the stocks in IBD's database have higher ratings. The Composite Rating combines all five IBD ratings into a single number.
In the IBD 50, a list comprised of the top stocks by fundamentals and technicals, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) surged 3% in huge volume, hitting a record high intraday. The company late Tuesday reported quarterly results that beat the Street's consensus targets on revenue and earnings, but fell 3.4% on Wednesday.
The Retail-Restaurants group is on track for its seventh gain in a row.
Banks and financials also were showing strength Thursday. Among IBD's 197 industry groups, banks and/or financials held four of the day's top seven groups.
In the sector-leading chip group, Qorvo (QRVO) popped nearly 2% in above-average volume as the stock cleared a short and shallow consolidation.
